The press should have stopped WMD lies

Scott McClellan's explosive new book charges the press with not doing its job in the run-up to the Iraq war. I've watched the cable news chattering classes dismiss the charge. I've also watched all the remaining Bush apologists repeating the same mantra, that "everybody believed that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction." That is absolutely not true. The United Nations weapons inspectors who were running all over Iraq at the time didn't and said so. Yet the press dismissed them like you'd throw away a paper napkin after lunch.

Why do you suppose that President Bush refused to let the U.N. weapons inspectors finish their job? Why do you suppose that he chased them out of Iraq? Could it be that he knew Iraq didn't have WMDs; that he had to chase them out of Iraq before they destroyed his rationale for this god-awful war?

McClellan is right. The press had it handed to them on a silver platter. And the press blew it.

Rick Lloyd
Honolulu

For once and for all, it's not a war

I am so tired of the administration and the media referring to the situation in Iraq as "the war in Iraq." The war ended five years ago. We are in an occupation. This is not semantics, but simple truth. But, because they continue to call it "war," vast sums of money can be extorted from Congress to pay for it, Patriot Act injustices can be glossed over and good, patriotic Americans continue to support the occupation of another sovereign nation, thinking we have no other choice. After all, we are at "war."

Maybe if we began calling it what it is, we would realize that we don't belong there. President Bush and John McCain speak of seeking victory in Iraq. This is nonsense. There is no victory in an occupation. As an astute observer once noted, "During an occupation, there are only two choices: You end it or you continue it."

Joseph Fleischer
Aiea

World war being waged at our gas pumps

The Quiet World War. There might be no bullets. There might be no bombs. But we have begun to see casualties. Our shores, cities, streets and homes have been invaded. If we cannot be easily defeated on the battlefield, our lives in America will be quietly invaded. Or maybe not so quietly, as we see in the cost of foods in our markets and more so when we look at, let me call them billboards that are announcing the invasion on almost every street corner that has a gas station.

This pinpoints the materials that our opposition is using in their war to overcome our will and our lives. These billboards also show the sites on which a toehold has been placed on our soil. The cost of oil and with it all of the fuels on which America depends to grow, harvest and get our foods to market is suffocating our lives. This might not appear to pinpoint a casualty, and many of us love the decrease in the cost of automobiles, but the market of new car sales might be the first noticeable casualty, since many of us cannot afford to feed the fuel tanks. Then we have the airlines that are cutting flights along with meals, increasing the cost of flying, and some that are closing shop.

I ask all of our citizens, What should we do to overcome this tsunami of price increases? What actions will you personally take to tell your representatives and senators your thoughts and recommendations to conquer this invasion and the associated increase in oil costs?

Harry Huyler
Kailua

Good things come from public-private efforts

The City and County of Honolulu's Emergency Services Department would like to thank the Star-Bulletin for Saturday's news coverage of the wireless EKG transmission project. The writer did a nice job of distilling out the essence of the project from a lot of technical information.

This joint project between our department and the Queen's Medical Center is a testament to Mayor Mufi Hannemann's continued emphasis on public-private partnerships. It is through partnerships such as these that we are able to provide state-of-the-art care for the people of Hawaii. Neither Queen's nor EMS could have accomplished this alone.

As stated in your article, the ability to transmit EKGs from the patient's side directly to the hospital reduces the time to definitive care for the patient. This in turn will help to reduce damage to the heart muscle and give the patients a better chance for full recovery.

Elizabeth Char, M.D.
Director
Emergency Services Department
City and County of Honolulu

Rainbow bridge would be nice Pearl memorial

The proposal for a landmark at Pearl Harbor seems an excellent idea. May I suggest a design in the form of a bridge that links Hickam and Ewa Beach in the form of a rainbow instead of just a statue? Something that has a dual purpose: to alleviate traffic and at the same time create a scenic attraction overlooking the Arizona Memorial.

Maybe it's time that federal, state and city can work jointly on this marvelous project. This project to me seems a lot better than the rail.

Mario Orbito
Pauoa, Hawaii

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